Yesterday I wrote an article called Trauma of Being the ‘Bad Guy’ in War. I invited readers to start looking at the stories, beliefs, and patterns in your ancestral lineage. Today I offer some questions for you to use to start your exploration. These come from my book Stories from the World War II Battlefield: Writing The Stories of War. You can find more than 500 writing prompts in this book, plus story outlines and more! You can find this and all my books on this site.
Journal Prompts for Children of War
This section of the writing prompt book contains 27 questions.
- What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
- What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
- What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
- What lessons (positive and negative) were passed down through the family because of the war?
- Was there any neglect or abuse because of the trauma of war? Emotional, mental, spiritual, physical? This question applies not only to children but spouses of those who served.
- Most men of the right age HAD to go fight. There was no choice. How did this lack of choice affect how they lived the rest of their lives and raised their children, if they survived the war? Did they feel they still had choices after the war?
- How did your mother and the family cope if the father was in any way disabled (mentally, physically, emotionally) from the war?
- How did the family cope if he spent most of his days living in a hospital rather than with the family? How did this impact the lives of his children?
Journal Prompts for Grandchildren of War
This part of the writing book contains 11 writing prompts.
- What lessons were passed down through the family because of the war?
- What stories did you hear about your grandfather or grandmother who served in the war?
- Was there abuse or neglect in your family because of how your parents were raised after the war? How did you cope with it? Did you allow the abuse to continue or did you stop the cycle?
- What do you wish you could ask your grandparents about their service or life during the war, if they were still alive?
My invitation to you!
Would you like more military research and writing education? I offer short online courses and webinars on my WWII Education website.
Are you ready to begin untangling and looking at your family’s war trauma? Or any other family trauma that has affected your life? If you would like assistance in this, contact me at info@wwiirwc.com to ask how I can help you. I use facilitation packages of 1, 3 or 5 hours to work with clients as we explore their genealogy and military histories, to find the patterns, and do energy healing together.
Are you ready to heal your past to live a fuller, more vibrant life with more possibilities?
© 2021 WWII Research & Writing Center
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